Jay vs. McVay

Week 2 came along and when most Redskins fans were still down on the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, they were less than optimistic facing a Los Angeles Rams team that arguably had one of the best front seven defensive lines in the league. With the team’s offensive struggles in week 1, fans were left wondering how the Washington Redskins would fair in this game. But more importantly, how would the battle of Jay vs. McVay play out?

The Washington Redskins came better prepared against this tough Los Angeles Rams team. Jay Gruden recognized last week that he bailed from his game plan. It was very clear in this game that he stuck to the game plan. To be fair, the outcome of each quarter allowed him to not panic and gave him reasons to not begin his pass happy tendencies. Now I know what you’re thinking. What about the “fade?” Yes. I agree 100%. It was a terrible play call, considering that the fade route was thrown to the shortest person on the team. Why throw a fade when the run game was on point? Before the injury, “Fat Rob” Kelley had 78 yards rushing. Why not continue the success of running the ball to put yourself in a potential 17-0 positional lead? Instead, a field goal is kicked for a 13-0 lead. The Redskins dominated time of possession but left points on the field which in return allowed the Rams to get themselves back in the game.

Kirk Cousins was subpar but more importantly didn’t have any mistakes. He simply was a game manager who kept his team in the game. Will the REAL Terrelle Pryor please stand up? Twitter Terrelle Pryor posted plenty of “I work hard” videos, but we have yet to see him breakout during a game. I do not question his work ethic, but Pryor and Cousins seem to not be on the same page. I asked for fan reaction on Pryor and I received a mic drop response:

Pryor did have some huge blocks that helped the team make positive plays. It’s not time to jump the ledge on Pryor but we need to see more in order for the fans to miss Garçon and Jackson. Now is it time to jump the ledge on Jordan Reed? He plays tough, he even had some huge blocks that put the offense on positive plays but I can’t help but to be angry at the fact that he simply just cannot stay healthy. Between concussions and chest injuries, it may be time to say our goodbyes to Reed and call for next man (or men) up. Can Vernon Davis and Niles Paul fill the role? I know, crazy to say this about Jordan Reed who has been a major contributor in this offense and maybe I’m overreacting, but I cannot dismiss his injury history. The OL seemed to be more poised and definitely improved from week 1. For the first time since 1957, 3 running backs had over 65 yards rushing: Kelley (78), Thompson (77) and Perine (67). Kelley had huge grabs and he hit the holes created very hard. Thompson had a 7-yard and an exciting 61-yard dash to the end zone. Perine grabbed yards with 21 touches. It did seem that Perine was working harder to gain his yards. That could have been because the OL seemed fatigued at times. Either way you break it down, you can’t argue 35 rushing attempts for 222 yards. When asked the question about our offensive line play on Twitter, this response caught my eye:

“For an OL that wants to be associated with the original Hogs, running the counter trey is a good way to start.” @RBG_DMC73

The defense continued to stay aggressive with two takeaways, a tremendous strip and heads up play from Ryan Kerrigan but unfortunately didn’t result in a turnover. Zach Brown continues to be a tackle monster with 8 solo and 2 assisted. For the most part, the rest of the defense was solid in their respective positions but they did give up huge plays due to blown coverages. Bashaud Breeland is continuing a bounce back season and Josh Norman, well he’s Josh Norman. Breeland had a miscue when he went for the wrap-up tackle on Todd Gurley, but Gurley’s athleticism allowed him to hurdle over Breeland. The GIFs will be in full force on Twitter, I’m sure. The Redskins front seven were mediocre at best. With only 2 sacks, it proves the quarterback pressure is lacking. I asked Redskins fans on Twitter for their opinions on the Redskins defensive play. This response was short, sweet and identified what all Redskins fans may be thinking:

“Defense showed good improvement versus the run save a few big plays. Better on third down. LBs still need to cover deep to short in order to stop big plays from happening.” @IrepDCSports

Okay. So my headline to this article is misleading. I haven’t given you any information on the Rams and Sean McVay to compare the “Jay vs. McVay” hype. If hype is what you would even call it. Why? It’s the Rams and none of us fans care about them. As we all know, Sean McVay was a good Offensive Coordinator for the Redskins. He will be a good coach for the Rams. But in this game, Jay Gruden bounced back from a poor week 1 and showed that his team was prepared and he was committed to the game plan for week 2. Not one single game will be perfect, so for this week I’ll call it like I see it. Good game plan, improved play calling and great team win. If we learned anything from this game, can we R.I.P. the fade once and for all?

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